


even if it's only for the night

by ciminos



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex nolastname, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Luke Patterson - Freeform, M/M, Pre-Canon, basically just a short oneshot, it’s cute trust me, pining luke patterson, that takes place when luke runs away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26623891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ciminos/pseuds/ciminos
Summary: The night Luke runs away from home the only place he knows where to go is Alex’s. It just so happens that Alex and his parents had also been arguing that night, but maybe all they really need is each other.
Relationships: Alex & Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 199





	even if it's only for the night

**Author's Note:**

> In honor of LukeAlex being confirmed ex-boyfriends, here’s a 1995 one-shot of the night Luke ran away from home, hope you enjoy!

Luke pulls the last graphic-tee hanging up in his closet off the hanger and quickly shoves it into his backpack, nearly ripping the zipper. He bites his lip to hold back the anger bubbling inside of him and begins throwing things from his nightstand into the bag as well.

Once he throws the last thing into his luggage he forcefully zips it up and yanks the cord to his radio out of the wall—instantly flooding the room with a painful eerie silence. After another argument with his mom he had ran into his room and turned up his radio to the loudest setting—something he had done since he was young. He starts humming in an attempt to combat the feelings that try to pour out of him but fails.

The truth is, music is his escape. Whether he was happy and ecstatic or depressed and furious, he knew that he could always count on music as a way to channel his emotions. Sometimes he would have trouble finding the right words to say, but it was like breathing for him to be able to turn those feelings into lyrics.

He just wished his parents could understand. He knew deep down that his parents just want what’s best for him, but being in Sunset Curve is what’s best for him. Ever since forming the band he has actually been excited about his future. Before Sunset Curve he was never able to think of a future where he was happy but now he couldn’t wait for those days to come.

Yet of course, his family didn’t care about what he wanted. They wanted their son to be a doctor or a lawyer, but that just wasn’t who Luke was or was ever going to be. 

But it didn’t matter anymore, because he was leaving. He didn’t know where he was going or how long he would be gone but frankly he didn’t care. All he knew was that he needed to get as far away from his house and his parents as soon as possible. 

Maybe one day he would mail them two tickets to his sold out show at Madison Square Garden and prove to him that his dreams were worth fighting. Maybe one day he could see where they’re coming from and they could be a happy family again, but he didn’t see that day happening anytime soon.

On the outside it probably seemed like Luke had it the easiest compared to his fellow bandmates, but the truth is his life was far from easy. Sure, his parents were a happy and loving couple unlike Reggie’s. And they were fully supportive of his sexuality, unlike Alex’s, but at least their parents supported their kids dreams.

Ever since he started his band, him and his parents have been on opposite wavelengths. They would get into full blown arguments over the smallest things like flushing the toilet or even what to have for dinner. It had gotten to a point where it was better to not speak at all. 

He literally booked a gig at the Orpheum next month, the freaking Orpheum! Yet his parents didn’t even pretend to be happy for him. Alex’s family threw him a party, Reggie’s parents bought him a new bass, and Bobby’s parents turned their own garage into a studio for their band to practice in, yet Luke didn’t even get a ‘congratulations’.

Luke shakes his head to clear his thoughts and drapes on his backpack before swinging open his bedroom door, causing it to slam against the wall.  
“What do you think you’re doing?” his mom shouts from the kitchen as the sound of the door echoes throughout the house. 

_None of your business_ part of Luke wants to say, but he chooses to stay silent and instead beelines towards the garage door.

He reaches the entrance to the garage and mirrors the action he had done to his bedroom door, causing another echo to follow. He then makes his way over to his bike and quickly yanks the white tarp that normally draped over it off before mounting it. 

“Luke!” His mom shouts as the garage begins to open. 

He doesn’t dare look behind him and instead begins peddling as soon as the doors open up wide enough for him to slip under. He moves his feet as fast as he can as his bike rides down the driveway and into the street. 

He hears loud footsteps behind him and cringes as the sound of his own name rings through his ears. He tries his hardest to keep looking forward but when a loud sob breaks through the quiet he quickly turns his head around. 

He takes in the view of his mom in his dads arms. He watches as she practically collapses into him and continues to wail into the night. He notices the lights of his neighbors houses begin to switch on, clearly awoken by his mothers screams.

He uses all of his power to turn his head back to the front and keep peddling. He begins to hum once again until he eventually peddles far down the street and disappears into the foggy night. 

***

Luke peddles until his feet ache and then continues to peddle some more. He finds himself heading towards Alex’s house out of instinct and he feels his heart start to pound. 

Alex had been his best friend for as long as he could remember, and they have only grown closer since they both started constantly fighting with their parents. 

Luke was the first person that Alex came out to, so he had always been someone that Alex could come to whenever his parents words got to him. He would speed over as soon as Alex contacted him and be the shoulder he could cry on because that’s the kind of relationship they had. He honestly didn’t know what he would do if Alex wasn’t in his life. 

Of course he still had Reggie and Bobby, but his relationship with Alex was different. There were moments where it almost felt like they were more than just bandmates, more than just friends, but those moments instantly passed as soon as they were acknowledged. 

He didn’t know if Alex felt the same way and he was honestly terrified to find out. Luke wouldn’t call himself someone who was always afraid of things, but if he had one fear it would be screwing up their friendship.

So of course he turned to music to deal with his feelings. He even wrote several songs about their relationship but panicked when he was confronted by Alex. It was actually funny how on stage he felt like he was a free spirit, someone who wasn’t afraid of anything, but in real life he was just as scared and terrified as everyone else.

He swallows down his thoughts as he finally pulls into Alex’s yard. The porch light is off and the only light coming from the house is from the window near the top of the home. Alex’s room. 

He throws down his bike and runs over to the tree he had been climbing for years. The tree happened to link directly to Alex’s bedroom which he use to climb all the time to visit Alex whenever he was grounded. Although recently he’d been using it to visit him whenever either of them got into a fight with their parents. Which was nearly everyday at this point.

He reaches the top of the tree and peers through the window directly next to it. He notices a tall silhouette pacing back and forth across the room and chuckles to himself as he watches.

He knew just about everything you could know about Alex. From his favorite hotdog toppings to the certain tells he had whenever he was feeling different things, there wasn’t a thing he didn’t know. So to see him right now pacing like he’s on a runway, he knew instantly that he was anxious and worried about something.

Luke lightly taps on the window and watches as the silhouette freezes from shock. He lets another small chuckle escape his mouth as the shadow slowly comes into light. 

The light from the streetlamp’s outside shines onto Alex’s face and illuminates his figure. Alex’s face melts from confusion into slight amusement as he unlocks his window and pushes it open slightly in order for Luke to get in.

He stumbles into the room and nearly trips over himself, but he puts his hands out to steady himself. He then throws his backpack off of his shoulder before wrapping Alex in a hug.

He doesn’t feel Alex’s arms around him so he begins to pull away until them tighten, keeping him in place. Luke lets out a contempt sigh and rests his forehead against Alex’s shoulder as he melts into the hug.

For months he hadn’t felt like he had a home, but now he realizes that here with Alex was his home. No matter how cheesy it was—he could honestly say that Alex was someone he felt like he could be himself around. Someone he could tell anything to to without the fear of judgement. And someone who would believe he could do anything.

Luke finally pulls away but keeps his arms wrapped around Alex as he looks up in order to look at the other boys face. He notices that his eyes are swollen and puffy and that his nose has a soft pink hue to it. 

“H-hey are you okay?” Luke practically whispers, scared to break the closeness of the moment.

“Oh yeah… you know it’s just..” he shrugs, “parent stuff, same as always.”

“Yeah.” Luke nods. He wished Alex didn’t have to go through this. So what if he’s gay, who cares! Luke couldn’t believe that Alex’s parents were so against their son being happy with another man. He just hoped that their band could take off soon so that Alex could get as far away from here as possible.

“Hey do you want to go to Bobby’s and wail on your drums?” Luke asks softly, as he steps out of Alex’s embrace and sits down on the end of his bed.

“No, no,” Alex chuckles quietly, “I just feel like staying in tonight.”

“You sure? Because I know how much drumming calms you down, I saw you pacing.”

“Yeah i’m fine. Besides… you’re here.”  
Luke can’t help the small smile that appears on his face as he digests the words he’d just heard. It was crazy how the simplest words always managed to make him feel 10 times better.

“So, what’s going on with you?” Alex asks which causes the smile on Luke’s face to instantly disappear. 

“I just came to hang out.” He attempts to play off.

“With all of your belongings and clothes?” Alex asks as he eyes the backpack on the ground.

“Okay, I ran away,” Luke confesses as he follows Alex’s eye line and stares at the bag, “I just couldn’t take being there anymore."

Alex doesn’t say anything but Luke feels the bed sink next to him and then feels the others arm slowly move up his back until it reaches his shoulders. Alex uses his thumb to rub gently across his two shoulder blades. That was something they always did to each other whenever the other was anxious or upset, it somehow always managed to cause the other to calm down.

“Honestly, I can’t take being here anymore either.” Alex whispers. Luke feels the hand on his back freeze so he looks over. 

Alex is looking down at his own lap and using his free hand to tap against the side of his bed frame, creating a soft beat. 

Luke places his closest hand on top of Alex’s lower thigh without thinking and uses his thumb to lightly run across it. He feels Alex go stiff underneath him so he instantly removes his hand and coughs awkwardly. 

“So-o-o should we watch something?” Luke says as he scoots up and lays down onto the bed.

“S-sure.” Alex responds confusedly before getting up and turning on his TV from across the room. After turning on the TV he grabs the remote and flops onto the bed just about half a foot away from Luke. Alex had a double bed so there was a decent amount of room for them, but Luke wanted nothing more than to close the gap between them.

He forces his attention onto the TV instead but watches Alex out of the corner of his eye. He looks over his face and watches as his mouth hangs open slightly. He moves his gaze down onto his chest and watches it move up and down slowly. 

They stay like that for a while, in a comfortable silence save for the noise from the TV and their occasional commentary on the episode. But both of them seem content.

**

Alex looks over at the clock on his nightstand and notices that it’s half past 11pm,

“We should probably get some sleep huh?” he asks as he turns his head towards Luke.

“You think our band is going to make it, right?” Luke lets out without looking towards him.

“What?” Alex asks concernedly, “O-of course, don’t you?”

“No-yeah of course I do,” Luke shrugs, “it’s just sometimes it feels like i’m the only one who does.” 

Alex scoots closer until they’re only a few inches apart and once again traces his hand up the back of Luke’s spine. Luke lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding in and melts into the touch. The warm hand heats up his entire back and instantly releases the tension he had been holding in his shoulders.

“We all believe in this band, otherwise we wouldn’t be here,” Alex says calmly, “and we’re playing the Orpheum next month! that’s _huge_!” he laughs, causing Luke to chuckle as well.

“Y-Yeah of course you’re right,” Luke springs out of bed, “we’re going to prove everyone who’s every doubted us wrong!” he practically shouts as he begins jumping up and down.

“Okay, first of all love the enthusiasm,” Alex whispers amusedly, “but it’s nearly midnight and my parents are already mad enough so maybe take it down a notch.” 

Luke freezes and giggles, “Oh right, sorry.” 

Alex reaches out his hand to pull Luke back into his bed. Luke grabs his wrist lightly and hops in before pulling up the covers. 

He was hyper aware of the distance between the two of them. They were both on their backs staring up at the ceiling with their arms and legs tangled together, and honestly Luke had never felt more comfortable in his life. He could have probably fallen asleep right there but something inside of him was begging to be let out. 

Luke looks over at Alex and finds that he had already been staring at him. They stay there for a few seconds, both scared to break the intensity of the moment, until Alex begins to slowly lean in until his face is only a few millimeters away from Luke’s. Luke could feel Alex’s breath as he traced over his face.

He notices the small scar on his forehead that he had gotten when they were practicing late one night and one of his drumsticks slipped out of his hands and hit him in the face.

He moved his eyes down and locked eyes with Alex. He had looked into those eyes so many times that he could probably point out every speck of grey and blue. He felt like he could drown in them as they pierced into his soul.

He looked further down until his eyes fell onto his lips. They were slightly apart as warm breath escaped them.

“Is this.. okay?” Alex speaks, snapping Luke’s attention back up into his eyes.

Luke tries and fails to let words come out of his mouth, so he instead nods and closes the distance between them. He feels his lungs fill with compassion as their lips meet. It’s slow and soft but still filled with so much passion.

He melts into him and feels all of his emotions from earlier in the day begin to evaporate. He forgets about his parents, about his band, about the future, and instead lives in the moment, there in Alex’s arms.


End file.
